When debottlenecking certain processes, it may be determined that a process is limited by an injection rate to a reactor. Typically, if such a determination is made, a larger injector supporting a higher injection rate might be added to the reactor during a shutdown of the reactor. A shutdown condition is typically required so that the existing injection nozzle can be removed and the new one can be added. This is because under operating conditions the reactor may be operating under pressure, operating at high temperatures, and/or containing reactants, products or catalysts that are hazardous. Nevertheless, shutting down a reactor for debottlenecking imposes lost run time and other costs.
Enlarging an injection nozzle during operation of a reactor poses many challenges. In addition to the aforementioned challenging reaction conditions, access to the injection nozzle is often limited, particularly in the case of fluid coking or FLEXICOKING process reactor nozzles. Such nozzles may be 3 to 8 feet from the service port of the nozzle. In addition, the breaking of a tool or the nozzle itself during a nozzle enlargement process could ultimately require the reactor to be shut down for repair. Accordingly, the risks and challenges with performing an injector enlargement while the reactor is online may be too significant, causing many to accept the costs of a reactor shut down.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an apparatus and method for enabling the enlargement of a reactor nozzle while the reactor is online while mitigating or avoiding the risks of performing such an operation.